The Dominion. FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1917. OUR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2981, 19 January 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1917. OUR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

A perusal of Sir Robert Stout's address to the University ■ Senate increases the strength of tho conviction tiia.t if ouv national education system is to he thoroughly and satisfactorily reformed it must ho rcj formed as a whole. It is no use to tinker with it hero and there. Piecemeal reform will do more harm than good. It will make the existing confusion worse confounded. Are nob the technical schools doing _ work that should bo done by tho primary schools? Aro the secondary schools doiug University work? .Sir Hobem Stout states these two very pertinent questions, but he does not answer thorn. Ho contents himself with tho romark that this matter requires consideration by the Senate. It certainly demands tho close attention 'of all our educational authorities., A clear definition , of tho aims and objects of each branch of our education system—primary, technical, secondary, and university —is an indispensable preliminary to the; formulation of any thorough and rational scheme of reform. Tho various stages of the system should ho made to fit into each, other, and in fixing the scope. q£ each due consideration should te given to the. work being £ O ne in all the other and to tho requirements of the. sihemo as a whole. Beform carrot bo effective unless it is compTchensive. In no. other way can proper continuity be secured, overlapping avoided, waste of time and money prevented, and the highest degree o£ efficiency attained. Various changes are at present being made in our primary school course; proposals for increasing the usefulness'of our technical schools are under consideration; existing methods of secondary eduoation require- to be drastically altered; and University reform has become a perennial topic of public discussion. Before any real progress can be made these sectional movements must be co-or-dinated. The reformers must join forces and broaden their outlook. Separate and independent efforts aro doomed to failure. Our system of education must be overhauled as a, "tvnole and not in sections, and until tho experts and authorities tackle the problem in a thoroughly comprehensive manner a satisfactory solution will never be worked ouc.

One of the principal aims of university reform is to bring our highest educational institution _ into closer and more vital touch with the life ci the community. It would be a mistake to narrow its scope or to lower its standard of general culture. It must give adequate attention to the teachings of science without neglecting the- humanities. Our university colleges do not exist solely for tho purpose of training specialists, but it is not unreasonable to expect that they: should make their contribution to tho improvement and development of our foundation industries. One of the most glaring weaknesses of university education in New Zealand is its failure to make its influence felt in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. «Sie Jasies Wilson has already drawn attontion to this lack of provision for the needs' of the farmer. Sir Kobbrt Stout regretfully admits that very littlo has vet been done to bridge the gulf which separates the university from the man on tho land. The fact that so few have,attempted to become experts in our rural industries is not quito.so surprising as the Chancellor seems to think. The facilities lor tho scientific study of agriculture are not nearly as great as they ought to be. They j are certainly not as great as those/, provided for students desiring to enter tho professions. Tho efforts which. are now being made to extend tho>! operations of our university colleges in the direction of scientific research should make the farmer realise moro distinctly than he does i\b present that the University exists for his benefit as well as for the good of the city dweller. The Chancellor's suggestion that the various scientific departments of tho Government should be united with Victoria College requires to be considered from several points of view. Such an arrangement might possibly open the door to undue political interference in university affairs. Would it mean that tho work of the professors would bo controlled by Ministers ?_ Would such a departure be desirable 1 It might curtail the freedom of scientific inquiry, which is one of the privileges which a university should jealously guard. Anything in the nature of political control would nrobably tend to'restrict unduly the field of research, and place pure science at a disadvantage. It is necessary to guard against unreasonable demands for quick and tangible results. The history of scientific discovery shows the danger of _ making immediate and obvious utility tho standard of value in tho realm of scienco. It might of course be quite possible for the University to co-operate with the scientific departments of tho State without making any sacrifice of its freedom or independence, and such co-operation mignt well bo justified on. grounds of economy and effi-

cicncy. The pronation of srieiitinc I'osKirch is a matter which the HUlo i-aiinol, afford U, i.ftprlooi,. Thc pilUi( , naturally looks to the Univ<;r»il.y fuiMionlii's k> give thoir (mhisUmw, fllltl l.<jlfl.kc(;oui,sel w il.|, l|lociov..rnhm;»il will) tho object uf discovering the best method of piocvdufc